According to my Microsoft Money 2004 report, my investments did well in 2004.

My 401(k) produced a 23.9% return over the year, not accounting for my employer match, just the change in fund values. My Roth IRA delivered a 17.2% return. I have a regular investment account that provided me with a less impressive 6.8% return.

The weighted average annual return of all my investments was 18.7%.

January has been a down month in the stock market. Many people are saying that a poorly performing January signals a poorly performing year ahead. We’ll have to see what happens.

This is what I should be thinking about for 2005. The article paints a picture of Rick Kuhlman who has found some ways to save that I think could apply to me.

He replaced all the lightbulbs in his house with energy-efficient ones. At first I thought that it would be better to wait for the current bulbs to die, but saving $20 a month in electricity definitely outweighs just waiting for the old, non-efficient bulbs to die.

Rick switched from cable to satellite. For cable television, I pay about $80 a month, or $960 a year. That’s with a special promotion. I should really re-evaluate my needs. Yes, I like having HBO On Demand so I can watch certain programs with guests. I like having Bravo as I enjoy Celebrity Poker Showdown and The West Wing.

Thinking about it, it would actually be cheaper to buy those shows on DVD when they come out rather than having cable. Perhaps I can just visit a friend who would tape them on TiVo.

My desktop computer has TiVo functionality, so even with basic cable I could still view and record the new episodes of The West Wing.

The Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are now twin queens of their media empire. Not bad for only 18. Apparently their attorney, who helped them build the Olsen Twin Empire and has been CEO of their company, agreed to let the twins take over their business if compensated, and in his own words he was, handsomely.

Joining her sister in a statement, Mary-Kate Olsen said: “We are very thankful that we are able to enjoy our college experience, run a business, and live our lives.”

If you enjoy reading Consumerism Commentary (that’s this website, the blog you are now reading), please take a moment to vote for us at the Business Blogging Awards. We’ve been nominated under the “personal finance blog” category. I am pretty sure that we’re not going to win, but it would be nice not to be embarassed.

Thanks to all the readers who come by every day and especially those who comment and add to the discussions.

I’ve started working on my tax forms with TurboTax Online through taxfreedom.com, a site that offers free federal and reduced-price state filing. I have almost all the information I need, so I went through to see where I was heading.

Thankfully, I took classes last year towards my MBA. If I hadn’t, I would have owed a few hundred dollars. It turns out that because of tuition money spent, I will be getting almost $1,000 back from the federal government.

I realize that is money that I could have been gaining interest on, but with my job change and then my job change back last year, it was going to be difficult for me to predict what was happening and make better choices on my withholding.

Sorry for not writing much lately, I’ve been a little under the weather.

The savings interest rate at ING Direct has not moved up since December 28. Since then, others like Emigrant Direct (at 3% APY) and VirtualBank at 2.6% APY (for the first $10,000).

I’m sure ING Direct has noticed the competition and will likely move their rates up at the end of this month or the beginning of next. Contact me if you want an ING Direct referral email, which provides you with $25 towards your new account there and me with $10 for referring a new customer.

Currently, I am contributing 12% of my gross salary to my 401(k). In thinking about my finances for the upcoming year, I’d like to reduce that to 6% or 8%. There is a strain on the amount of available cash at any moment. Unfortuantely, I am a designated person in my company, according to government regulations. I have access to “insider information” that prevents changing investments except for during certain times of the year. I’ll have to wait until the next time changes are allowed to be made, and I’m not sure when that is.

Jonathan Burton of CBS MarketWatch has pointed out that millions of dollars are lost by employees when their employer holds onto 401(k) funds after they are deducted from the paycheck.

It works like this. On Friday, January 1, you receive your paycheck. 12% of your paycheck has been deducted before taxes and put aside. According to regulations, your employer can hold this money (“float” it) until February 21, at which time they deposit the funds into your 401(k) account. During this float period, your employer is making money (interest) on your funds. For a large company with many employees, that adds up to quite amount of money lost to you.

It looks as if the rules will be tightening somewhat. In this age of technology, namely direct deposit and ACH, no float period is necessary.

Working for a financial services company, my guess is that my employer knows that most of its employees would be clued into to the lack of necessity of the float period. Our funds are deposited into our 401(k) accounts on the day they are deducted.

401(k) plans are not the only accounts that are affected by the float. For example, ING Direct floats money deposited for one day. That is, once you deposit money through ACH, you won’t gain any interest on it until the next business day. Most likely, ING Direct is keeping the interest it makes on that first day for the company in some form.

From the article, Employees who are surprised to find out that 401(k) contributions are held back for days or weeks should know that complaints can produce equally surprising results.